FOCUS: MANUAL VS AUTOMATIC

This setting allows a photographer to select what part of the subject will appear clearly and which areas are thrown out of focus/blurred. The setting was originally not included in early analogue cameras and only comes with the present-day semi-automatic and full-automatic (point and shoot) kind of cameras. Manual/automatic focus is normally embedded within interchangeable lenses for Pro and Semi-pro cameras and activated by use of a dial on the lenses side, full-auto cameras on the other hand, they have the automatic focus function contained in the camera body. When on auto-focus, the camera inevitably selects and emphasizes part of the subject according to applied settings, when the shutter release button is pressed halfway. This saves a lot of time otherwise lost on trying to focus manually and consequently, the setting is very popular among many photographers including myself. Sometimes however, automatic focus is not suitable; for instance when the subject is too close, the function won't work properly, also when going for the ’artistic’ shots where you want to pin point specific areas of the subject, automatic focus will generally give you undesired results and in such cases manual focus is more suitable. 

Behind the camera is Safi’ monitoring the viewfinder and in the background is Beatrice giving her speech during a Journalism Club event.

Camera - NIKON D3100

Focal Length - 35mm
Shutter Speed - 1/50 sec
Aperture - f/5 

ISO/Film - 60
Category - Event
Uploaded - April 4th 2013  
Taken - February 15th 2013

Location - USIU Nairobi, Kenya
Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi